Pours a bubbly light brown color with an airy head that collapses rapidly to an oily looking sheen...expected for a chile beer.

Mild cardboard and nestle quick powder nose has me wondering if I got a bad bottle or let it sit too long in my fridge (3 months). Hints of grassy hops and toffee maltiness. I dont smell any of them smoked jalapenos.

Taste has some of the same cardboard that was present in the nose. Sweet malts are pretty dominant with a short bright burst of hop bitterness in mid to late sip. The smoky peppers finally come through on the very end with a lingering and quite noticeable heat in the back of the throat. I like that, but then again, I like really spicy food. I could see this being a turn off for many. I think I might try to score a fresh bottle of this and see if it is any better. (814 characters)

This brew is a clear amber color with a thick and creamy off-white head that recedes slowly. Thin rings of lacing on the glass. Smokey aroma with prominent peppers and light hops. Medium-bodied with flavors of spicy pepper, sweet malt and citrus hops. The finish is spicy with a fresh pepper aftertaste. Maybe I am still gunshy years after my Cave Creek experience but I really want nothing to do with these types of beers. (423 characters)

Pours a clean orange-ish color with an off white head. In the aroma, smokey and spicy. In the taste, smokey and spicy, and some dry yeastiness. A small bite and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry spice and small burn in the aftertaste. Smokey and spicy, great for mexican food. (278 characters)

A mold of clouded copper. Small, unlasting cap of big bubbly froth. Light lacing with some strings and tiny spots.

Aroma is lovely with a huge smokey malt and roasted pepper waft.
Round and spicy, smokey and resonating. Nice!

Taste is just as nice with moderate malts giving weight to the smokey ridge in which it rides. Fun lingering finish with the smokey leftovers and grab of roasted pepper spice. It wavers on the palate for good length with smokey pepperness. Quite nice. Never over the top with its spice, but definately present.

Feel is a sturdy medium body with a malty centered middle and one fun finish with the smokey spices and lightly textured dryness.

A drinkable, fun brew to behold if in the mood for something out of the ordinary. Perfectly spiced and smokey for this Northern boys' buds. (820 characters)

A: Pours a hazy golden amber with a thick white head. Looks good, but nothing distinguishes it from other ales. The appearance is fairly generic.

S: Faint notes of caramel, cream, and pepper can be detected immediately after pouring, but become more intense as the beer warms. It's an interesting scent to be sure, but I wish it were more assertive immediately after pouring.

T: The entry is spicy and smoky, immediately allowing the notes of biscuits, caramel, minerals, cream, and smoked peppers to jump out. The finish is long and complex with bready, biscuity malt notes underpinned by a subtle smoky spiciness.

M: The mouthfeel of this medium-to-full bodied ale is firm and dry, never distracting from the unique flavor profile. More drinkable than expected.

O: The idea of chiles in beer was initially off-putting, but I'm glad I gave this one a chance. It actually is very good. (889 characters)

Appearance – Served a golden amber colored brew with a one finger white head. The head faded rather fast to leave a good level of lacing.

Smell – The aroma is heaviest of a malty and ready smell. Mixed with these aromas are some hot pepper as well as a smoky and char like aroma.

Taste –The taste begins more on the malty side. This more bready taste is soon met with some smoke and char flavors more toward the middle of the taste. The chipotle in the name is, for the most part , absent up till the middle of the taste, at which point some light hints of pepper heat are detected. At the end the spicy flavor gets a bit stronger (although never really all that potent) and leaves a light spicy heat aftertaste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The beer is on the average side in terms of thickness with a carbonation level that is average as well. A good compromise for the more malty and spicy characteristics of the brew which overall create a good drinkability.

Overall – The beer has some good flavors and feel, but is not really something I would ever pine for on any real occasion. Worth a try, but nothing exceptional. (1,175 characters)

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a pilsner glass. Reviewed December 2010.

A: Darkish, reddish brown. Thin to no head. Visible sediment.

S: Delicious, savoury chipotle. Very strong and spicy. Some sweeter maltiness as well.

T: Right...it's a chipotle and -- surprise, surprise -- it tastes like chipotle. What did you expect? Initially peppery and carbonated, it mellows into an almost oaky maintaste before bringing some heat into the end and aftertaste. Smoky.

M: Foamy, carbonated, and spicy.

D: Very well-made, but far too idiosyncratic to be particularly drinkable. Deliciously spicy. If you don't like chipotle peppers, stay away. If you do, get some! (663 characters)

Drinkability: Very smooth for a chile beer. The balnce on this one is amazing with the hops, malt, and chiles all blending nicely. One, if not the best in the style that I have had that was not on tap. I will look for this again, but one bomber at a time is good enough. (542 characters)

This was a pretty good-looking beer, cloudy amber with a medium- sized head. Aroma was Ale-like, with some pepper spiciness. I honestly cannot tell whether it was chipotle or some other pepper. Taste was hoppy with some warming spiciness. Fairly thin mouthfeel. I think this is a beer one would try as a curiosity. (314 characters)

Wonderful pour. Dark hazy amber, dark orange slipping to sunshine light orange, topped with a soapy, lacey head that sticks around for ages.

Smells of smokiness and lightly sweet malt. Strong, but not particularly complex. No big hints of meat and cheese like you get in a good smokebeer.

Tastes great, much more complex than the nose. Big salami and charcoal in the front, moving into a lightly sweet big malt middle and then the nodes of smokey yellow cheese kick up, moving into perfectly spicey but light pepper. Not at all hot, just peppery. Wonderfully blaalnced. Pepper burn lingers lightly. (604 characters)

Pours a pale orange with yellow tinge, no real head. Slight haze but mostly clear. Leaves a line of lace where head was, but nothing more. Fairly flat and dull.

Wow, smells like a brew day. Lots and lots of malt. Virtually nothing else, maybe a slight acrid character, light capsicum aroma. But really that heavy, dominant malt. I don't mind it but it's not fantastic.

Taste is quite savoury, for sure. Has a quite sweet sensation at the front, with elements of glazed fruit and pale malt, then gets quite salty and smokey afterwards, almost meaty as well, and with aspects of steamed greens and a peppery sort of flavour without much spice. Bit of a funky flavour, and then a very mild chilli bite right at the end. But it's funky more than spicy. Not bad, but not sensational.

Mouthfeel is fairly thin, a bit of viscosity which is good, but nothing to sink your teeth into in this brew.

I kind of wanted Rogue to blow the chile beer out of the water with this, but it just seems kind of savoury without being particularly pungent, spicy or full of character. Ultimately seems a bit tame, and a sort of muddle between chilli and smoked beer flavours. Not undrinkable but a bit blah. (1,187 characters)

Pour: Bomber into a a Pizza Port pint glass. Orangey amber color. Displays a decent ecru head but it's on the fizzy side. No lacing.

Nose: Smokey cured meat aroma, similar to the Schlenkerla rauchbiers.

Mouth: The base beer seems pretty boring, just some sweetish grainy malt flavor, but the chiles make it interesting. I like spicy food and all, but I've never had an interest in melting my face with capsaicin. Fortunately this beer isn't all that hot really. It gives a nice, mild, lingering burn in the back of the mouth but not much more. It doesn't take a long time to acclimate to. There's also a little bit of pepper flavor in in addition to the spiciness, both black and chipotle. Medium-thin body, good carbonation level.

Overall it accomplishes what it set out to do perfectly, but it just isn't particularly appealing or complex. It's a great novelty, but not a great beer. (888 characters)

Hmmm, now this one is very interesting. Apparantly Rogue messed up a bit, as this bottle is not the same in design as the other 5 anniversary beers. Never-the-less, I also heard that this was the same as Mexicali Rogue, but i've never had that one yet, so here it goes. The pour is beautiful, a glowing reddish colour with a nice white head that lasts for a bit, and leaves a bit of lacing. The aroma is intriguing. Some strong malts, a touch of hops, some smoke, and a bit of peppery heat. The taste is where things really heat up. This brew is very malty and almost sweet up front, than the middle is smoky, and the finish is spicy/hot. The mouthfeel is good, but hot, and the drinkability would be better with some mexian food. Still, this is probably the best pepper beer out there. If a brewery can do it up right, Rogue is the one! (837 characters)

I'm not sure if it was actually unfiltered or not, but this definitely looked like it. It was a pretty dark brown with a sweet hops and spices scent. It wasn't very bitter at all. The prominent taste was malt, with other various peppery flavors mixed in. It started out very unique and interesting, but the more I drank it the more it tasted like a regular brown ale. (367 characters)

Appearance: Dark amber-red body with deep orange flashes, looks extremely good when backlit. The beige head is thick and has an egg-white stiffness which leaves a nice run of smattered lace on the edge of the Glass Mug I am using. Conditioning seems high at first but settles to a moderate level once the head sits down and relaxes.

Nose: Smokey malt nose with a Chipotle Tabasco Sauce odor. Toasted malts break through in the finish with a delicate hint of hops, but not much.

Taste: Lots of smoky malts in this one smoked and toasted the middle only hints at the Chipotle Peppers, which is a shame. Overpowering and one-dimensional, the experience is finally ruined with a waxy, lard ridden smoky bacon feel in the back end.

Mouthfeel: Starts OK, middles average, and slowly finishes with unsettling thick lard-like constitution that coats the inner cheeks with a smoky bacon flavored fat-like residue. Not very nice at all.

Drinkability: I managed the Bomber, but only just, I did struggle with it. I found the smokiness to be too overpowering in this brew to be honest, I expected more from the Chipotle Peppers, a more refined balanced brew, what I got was a smoked beer which was a tad sickly in the long run.

Overall: Tastes like a run-of-the-mill smoked beer to me, and a rather unbalanced one at that. Sadly, only the merest hint of Chipotle Pepper in the back end here. I love spicy food and peppers, but Im glad I only got one of these. More Smoked than Chipotle, which was a disappointment, nevertheless its not a bad brew .its just not for me though. (1,933 characters)

This brew pours a murky amber color. The head is nonexistant, and there is no lacing. The aroma is very sweet with peppers in the background. The taste is mildy sweet with chile peppers mildly coming through in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with nice carbonation. Overall, this brew is a lot more drinkable than I had thought it would be. I am glad that it is rather mellow, and certainly not in my face. (421 characters)

First I should admit that I love chipotles, with that whole chili- peppers-charred-with-cigar flavoring that I adore in select foods.
Secondly, I know what kind of nadir pepper beers can produce, after my bile ducts still start churning after the mention of the conjunction of any two or more of following words: cave, creek, crazy, Ed's, Chili, Beer.

This pours a burnt golden orange topped with a scattered, pocky bubbled crown.
The nose has vague caramel grain notes coupled with burnt rubber and Chipotle gradations.
The malt base is wide and weak, featuring notions of caramel and dark breads. The middle is filled with chipotle smoke, robust, and meaty, with the beading sweaty flesh of the pepper still issuing commands, tastewise. There is an underlying heat, but not of Hot Sauce, rather of a peppery, jerk seasoning. The hops conclude with glimpses of florals. Chipotle reigns, but the balance is suitable. The subtle building heat is actually a bit intoxicating in more ways than one.
The body is frail and pale, and the carbonation is juvenile, as in underdelevopeled and flat.
It seems like it probably loses something due to simplicity, and on it's own it's a bit eh, but it would certainly hold it's own as a tex-mex wash. (1,248 characters)

mouthfeel: The carbonation is just above medium, and the body light but not thin.

taste: The same smoked chipotle from the aroma dominates the flavor. Some malts are present, but hard to pick out behind the pepper. Light pricks of teasing heat are felt after the swallow. Hop presence is at a minimum, which is probably for the best.

drinkability: eh, not a bad beer but half a bottle would be plenty...interesting, though. I could see this chipotle translating well into a porter.

A: Pours a dark slightly hazy amber with a moderately thick off-white head that faded into a nice thick film that left a lot of clinging lace down the glass.S: This smells awesome. Spicy notes of chili peppers, roasted peppers, and...chipotle peppers! This really does have that great earthy smell of smoky jalapeños. T: Just like the nose this has a big smoky spicy taste of dried jalapeños and salsa. Very unique and refreshing. The finish has a bit of heat to it too from the peppers which leaves a light burning sensation in the aftertaste. M: If the body was any thicker than medium the flavors of this beer wouldn't work as well. Carbonation is low and the mouthfeel is a touch sticky. D: Very interesting beer. Not something I would drink every day, but better than I expected especially seeing as how this beer could be pretty hit or miss. It's a hit in my book and should be tried if you're a fan of spicy foods. (996 characters)

Pours a clear, dark amber color with a large white head that had decent retention. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left on the glass. Has a smokey and earthy aroma. The flavor likewise is very Rauchbier in charactor. Very smokey with a little spice kick and heat coming in on the finish at the back of the throat. Has enough of a body to carry the smoke and chile spice. Moderate carbonation. A good beer but not something I would want to drink much of or often for that matter. (482 characters)

Poured from the bomber and was greeted with a deep amber color beer. There was a thin off white head that sat atop the brew that quickly settled to a scant foamy film across the top. Not much lacing at all. (Is this from the oils that were in the peppers?)

I enjoy cooking and have used canned chipotles on several occasions. There is no secret what the aroma is... Chipotle Peppers all the way mixed with a slight malt aroma. The smoky aroma that comes from the chipotles is quite intriguing.

I have to admit that I'm really enjoying this beer. It almost seems that the malt notes are balanced with the smokiness & spiciness of the chipotles vs. the traditional hops.

I timed this tasting/review to go along with a spicy Buffalo Chicken appetizer that we are having. I tried the beer first and now am enjoying both together. I have to say the pairing is excellent.

Mouth feel is fairly light but seems bigger due to the smoky/spicy nature of the beer.

The finish is more of a lingering spiciness with very subtle hop notes.

I really like this.

I would highly recommend pairing with the proper food. Not sure I'd drink this on its own. But for the specific spicy occasion this is perfect.

Note - I've let three other family members try this with the spicy appetizer and all three really enjoyed it.

Get it the next time you have guests and intend to serve a spicy dish. (1,400 characters)

Aye carumba, a spicy beer that works rather than burns and offends. This is a solid Rogue Ale with that great roasted chipotle taste on the finish. No, it doesn't scour your mouth out but rather it works with any spicy food or even better try it with food that is not spicy like a bowl of vegetable soup; it brings its own spice to the table. It is totally drinkable by itself( there is a smokiness to the finish like a lighter version of rogue smoke). Cool beer that is a benchmark for the style. (497 characters)